Two Pairs of Boots for the Hangman
by silverhorizon
Summary: Raine and Jack, best friends forever. Of course, Jack might take her for granted now and then, but she doesn't mind that much... does she? This follows the course of the movie... to Raine, Will is just a living reminder of the man who pushed her away
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the Disney movie 'Pirates of the ****Caribbean****.'**

**Prologue**

A tall, tanned woman stood on the end of the plank that was between her and the waves of the sea, staring back at the men still on her ship.  

            "Listen, Miss Raine, you can stay if you want, if you would only agree to our terms." Said a man close to the plank, waving his cutlass around like he was some kind of god.  His skin was foul and scarred his teeth yellow.  The girl, 'Miss Raine' spat back at him, causing him to take a step backward and grin at her.  

            "If I've told you once, Barbossa, I've told you a thousand times.  You shall not have any part of my body to call your own.  If you get rid of Jack, you get rid of me.  And I am not a miss."  

            "See, Barbossa?  See?  I told you not to get rid of me." Said the man who was called Jack, who was grinning awkwardly.  He was surrounded by evil, decrepit pirates.  

            "Oh, shut up, Jack.  Your turn next."  Said Barbossa, turning back to the girl who was standing proudly on the wooden beam.  "Very well, Raine, your time here is up then, and you have chosen your fate.  Catch." He tossed her a pistol.  She caught it without any trouble.  "I trust you'll be wanting that, darlin, before the day is through.  Now git moving afore I change my mind!"  

            "We couldn't have that happening, now could we?" The girl said sarcastically, but when Barbossa took a menacing step toward her, she scowled.  "Very well, I can walk on my own."  She turned and took a swan dive off the board, swimming toward the island in the distance before her strength ran out.  She turned once she was a fair distance away from the ship, to see Jack standing on the end of the board, apparently saying something to the men on the ship.  But then something was tossed into the water and Jack dove off after it.  After that, the girl, Raine, just turned back around and used the last of her strength to crawl up onto the island and sigh happily, flopping herself down into the sand.  

            "What's put you in such a fine mood, Jane?"  Jack said, dragging himself wearily up onto the island and staring at the Pearl make its way away from the island.  

            The girl frowned.  "For the last time, Sparrow, the name is Raine.  I don't want you calling me Jane.  It's embarrassing."  

            Jack grinned and sat down next to her.  "Well, sorry, Janie dear, but I was just wondering what was making you so happy.  After all, we might as well be dead.  And also, while you might want to be called by your last name, Captain, or Jack will do just fine for me, thank you."  

            Raine smiled.  

            "Well, I was just thinking about how we have all the time in the world, just the two of us here on this island."

            Jack grinned slowly.  

            Raine stood up and turned her back on him.  

            "Have fun!" She called over her shoulder to the scowling, bewildered Jack.  


	2. Flashy Entrances

**Chapter one**

          Jack stood proudly upon the small mast of the pathetic little ship that they were currently sailing just off the coast of Port Royal.  He glanced down at Raine, who was lying across two crates in the bottom of the boat, eyes closed, allowing the sun to warm her face.  

          "Janie, dear, wake up, we're almost to Port Royal."  

          Raine sat up and Jack was amused to see a scowl across her features, actually quite attractive with her smattering of freckles and tanned skin.  

          "Jack, if you call me that one more time, I will cut off something that you will want to use later, especially on those strumpets in Tortuga."  

          "Yer just jealous." Jack said, turning his attention back to the town up ahead.  

          "Yeah that's right.  I'm dying to be another one of yer strumpets…" She grinned.  "Like Anamaria.  Boy, will she love seeing you again, after you stole this boat from her.  Thank you, dear Ana, for the boat!"  

          "Shut it."  Jack muttered, not looking down at her again.  She looked around at the boat floor for a moment and frowned again.  

          "Leaking, Jack."  

          "I know."  

          Raine picked up a bucket and began to bail the water out of the bottom, sighing halfheartedly and finally giving up and putting it down.  

          "Come on up, darling, and look at the view." Jack said, grinning and offering her his hand.  She climbed up next to him on the mast, ignoring the hand, just swinging herself up gracefully.  

          "Show off." Jack muttered.  

          The two of them stood there, looking a sorry sight on the mast of a sinking boat, wind blowing at their hair casually, mixing Jack's dark brown with her light, mousy brown.  Both were wearing hats, but Raine had a green bandanna instead of a red one, and two large gold hoop earrings.  They were wearing similar attire, right down to the kohl covering their eyes… but Raine had her hair braided into about fifty little braids, instead of with bead and trinkets.  

          Jack pointed silently to three skeletons hanging from a rock formation, with a sign next to it that said _Pirates, Ye Be Warned.  _

They both took off their hats, and Raine bowed low, while Jack offered a silent salute.  

          It was perhaps an unorthodox, almost comical way of entering the port, but it suited the two of them just fine, turning up on a sinking ship.  

          They both stepped off the mast and onto the dock as if they knew what the other was thinking already.  

          A harbormaster called their attention back to the ship.  

            "What? Hold up there, both of you. It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the docks."  Jack glanced back at the sunken boat, as did the harbourmaster, and Raine snorted with laughter, quickly turning it into a cough.  "And I shall need to know your names."  

          Jack glanced at Raine, and she returned a similar expression.   

          "What d'ye say to three shillings, and we forget the name?"

          Raine sighed in a this-is-a-waste-of-time sort of way.  

          "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. and Mrs. Smith."  The harbourmaster said, taking the three shillings.  Raine's expression twisted when she heard his say Mrs, and she coughed again.  Jack was choking on laughter.  When the harbourmaster turned his back, she stuck her tongue out at him.  Jack dragged her away and began to taunt her about it.  

            "So, what d'ye say, wife?  You'll be my wife, darling?"  

            "Shut it, Jack." Raine hissed.  She snatched up the bag of shillings from the post and jingled it a bit, handing it to Jack with a satisfied smile.  He had been so busy teasing her; he had almost passed it up.  

            "Now, Janie, that's no way to talk to your husband."  

            Raine kicked him in the shin and marched on.  Jack recovered as quick as possible, and fell into step beside her.  

            Well, not really into step.  Jack had a defining swagger to his walk, and Raine walked with a more… bouncy step… every once in a while she would skip a bit or spin around, just to keep moving.  

            Raine was more following Jack around… she knew what they were in Port Royal for, of course, but Jack hadn't really spelled out the details.  He never really did, but she didn't mind.  He understood that she trusted him not to plan something that would mess with her mind.  

            The two of them walked down the docks within range of the interceptor, a fine ship which Raine could see from the way Jack was looking at it.  She studied it carefully, making little mental notes.  

            "Not like the Pearl." She muttered with a sigh, so that only Jack would hear.  

            "No ship is like the Pearl." He said in an equally low tone of voice.  They stepped forward, only to be cut off by two pompous looking soldiers of the British navy, dressed in red coats in order to look official.  Raine held back an amused smile.  These two were plainly idiots.  

            "Good afternoon, gentleman," Raine said with a fake smile.   They ignored her.  

"This dock is off limits to civilians." One of them said.  

"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately." Jack said, and tried to step around.  The two redcoats followed him so that he could not pass, and Raine smiled brightly at him when he glanced at her.  

"Apparently there's some sort of a high toned and fancy to do up at the fort, eh? How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?" Jack continued.  Raine rolled her eyes and sighed impatiently.  Jack threw her a look… a shut-up-we-have-no-choice-but-to-do-this look.  

"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to civilians." Said the same British soldier as before.  

"Ah yes, and we all know how important that is.  I bet that nobody could live without you two gentleman standing here, protecting this ship."  Raine piped in sarcastically, with a bright cheeriness to her tone.  Jack glared daggers at her, but the two red coats just looked bewildered.  

"It's a fine goal to be sure but it seems to me that a…" Jack shifted and began to gesture toward a ship over to the side, but Raine interrupted him.  

"Have you gentleman ever had any experience with pirates?"  

The men shifted uncomfortably.  Jack frowned at her… he hated it when she cut him off.  Which only made her do it more often, of course.

"Well," one of them said.  "We've been on ships before that were capturing pirates… but we've never had an actual encounter with pirates themselves…"

Raine sent an amused smile Jack's way.  

"That's not true, Mullroy!" The other one said.  "Don't you remember, I've seen the Black Pearl!"  

"The Black Pearl?"  Raine and Jack both said unanimously, standing up a little straighter.   

"Are you sure it's not just some sort of legend?" Jack said, carefully.  

"It is a legend!"

"No it isn't!"

"What?"

"I've seen it with my own eyes!"  

"You haven't seen it."

"Yes, yes I have!"  

"You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out?"

"No."

"No."

"But I have seen a ship with black sails."  

Raine rolled her eyes and glanced at Jack to see if he was planning anything.  She was surprised to see that Jack was already making his way over to the interceptor… why hadn't he told her?

"Oh, and no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than the Black Pearl. Is that what you're saying?"

She crept over to the ship and walked up as carefully as she could, keeping the corner of her eye on the two bickering soldiers, but at the same time moving toward Jack, at the helm.  For a moment, she forgot everything… he just looked so happy at that helm, and she couldn't help but that that was where he truly belonged… behind a helm.  

But the she heard the shouts of Murtogg and Mullroy, and reality snapped back into place.  

"Hey, you!  Get away from there!"  

            "You two don't have permission to be aboard this ship!"  

            "Oh, I'm sorry… permission from you?"  Raine said sarcastically, shrugging comically.  

            "Raine!" Jack said sharply, and she threw him an innocent look.  

            "Well, very sorry, mates, it's just… it's such a pretty boat… ship."  

            "What's your name?"

            "Smith… or Smithy, if you like, and my lovely wife."  

            "Jack…" Raine said warningly.  

            "What's your purpose, in Port Royal, Mr. Smith?"  

            "What, do I like, not exist?  I can't have a purpose, of course, because I'm a woman, isn't that right?"  Raine asked bitterly.  

            They ignored her.  

            "No lies." The one called Murtogg said.  

          "Well then." Jack said, stepping forward a bit.  "I confess, it is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out!"

          "And mine!"  Raine pointed out.  

          "Yeah, can't forget you."  Jack said.  

          "I said no lies!"  Murtogg said. 

          "I think he was telling the truth."  

          "Well, if he was telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us!"  

          "Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told you."  

          "Well…" 

          "Would you like to hear some more truth?"  Jack said.  

          "Jack, nobody wants to hear another one of your fluffy made up stories."  Raine said.  

          "They might!"  

          "I doubt it."  

          "Well, just because you've heard the story before doesn't mean…" 

          SPLASH!

          Jack hadn't been watching, but Raine had seen very clearly when the girl had fallen into the water.  Jack turned to the stuffy red coats, but Raine was already pulling off her boots and effects, handing them to Jack.  

          Jack protested.  

          "Raine, what are you doing?"  

          "Well, Jack, I'm saving her, I would think that would be obvious?" 

          "I'll do it!"  

          "Shut up, you.  I can swim faster, remember? And you were thinking I couldn't pull it off, but I did manage to drag _you off the ocean floor.  I must say though, you are heavy when soaking wet."    _

          She took a swan dive off the boat and swam as fast as she could toward where the woman had fallen.  The water was cold, but she pushed herself further until she reached the woman, stretching out to her breathing limits.  She pulled the woman up out of the water and swam a few feet, before realizing she wasn't going anywhere.  After panicking for a few seconds… she didn't know how long she could keep her strength… she realized that the reason she wasn't going anywhere was that the dress on the girl was weighing her down.  She stared at it for a moment, not wanting to do it, but then decided it must be done…  she pulled off the dress layer on top and hoped that when she got back, Jack wouldn't decided to be perverted.  

          Thankfully, he wasn't.  Helping her out of the water, the woman was laid down on the deck, but she wasn't breathing.  

          The two soldiers bent over her, and after a brief glance at Raine, Jack bent over the girl too.  

          "Move." He told the two soldiers, and then shoved them out of the ways, ripping off the woman's corset and throwing to it Murtogg.  The woman was instantly alert, spitting water over the deck and gaining consciousness.  

          "Never did like those things." Raine said distastefully, and was once again, ignored.  

          "Never would have thought of that." Mullroy said.  

          "Clearly you've never been to Singapore." Jack said.  

          "We'll have to arrange a visit for you."  Raine said, grinning at Jack, who smiled back and then studied her, if only to make sure she was okay.  Jack then turned his attention back to the woman, and noticed the medallion around her neck.  

          "Where did you get that?" He asked softly.  Raine noticed too, and gasped.  

          "Jack, is that…?" 

          "On your feet!"  A voice said from behind them.  Jack stood up, and then held out his hand for Raine.  She ignored it and stood up.  He scowled at her.  

          A rather well-off looking man with a gray wig stepped forward and helped the woman on the deck up.  

          "Elizabeth. Are you alright?" He asked in a worried tone.  

          "Yes, I'm fine." The woman, Elizabeth, said, tucking the medallion hurriedly back into her dress and looking from the pirates to the officers.  

          "See? She's fine." Raine said, but fell silent when Jack poked her.  Because at that moment, it seemed that the respectable men realized that the woman was without corset and Jack had taken it off.  

          "Shoot him!"  The well-off man cried.  

          "Father! Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?" The woman cried out.  

          Raine choked.  "Excuse me?  Am I going to continue to be consistently ignored?"

          "I believe thanks are in order." The Commodore man said, sticking out his hand to Jack.  Jack backed away.  

          "She saved her." Jack said, pointing to Raine.  The commodore glanced at Raine and then back at his men.  

          Everyone laughed, except Jack, Elizabeth, and the two soldiers, Murtogg and Mullroy, who had witnessed it.  And of course, Raine fumed.  

          "You don't want to be doing that, mate." Jack said, observing Raine's expression quietly.  The commodore quit laughing and seemed to decide that he believed it, at least somewhat.  

          "Very well."  He stuck out his hand to Raine and she shook it reluctantly, but when she did so, he pulled up her sleeve to reveal the pirate brand.  

          "Had a brush with the East India Trading company, did we, pirate?"  He looked at her for a moment, and then turned to Jack.  

          "I blame you.  Influenced her, you did.  A pirate also, I presume?"  He turned back to Raine and pulled up her sleeve further to reveal another tattoo.  This one was simple, just two swords in the shape of an X.  

          "I don't recognize this."  He said, pointing to the tattoo.  "Some pirate you are."   

          Raine spat at him, and he stepped away in disgust.  "I wouldn't imagine you would recognize it.  I don't either. But the name is Raine."  She tried to pull her arm away, but the commodore caught it and pulled her over to the corner, where irons were put on her.  Then he stepped back over to Jack, who was silent.  

          The commodore studied him.  

          "Jack Sparrow, I presume?  Somehow, I thought you would be… never mind.  I can tell who you are.  And I suppose you have the tattoo to prove it?"  

          "_Captain_ Jack Sparrow, if you don't mind sir."  

          "Dammit, Jack!  Can't you just for once deny something?"  Raine said from where she stood.  

          "Well, I don't see your ship… captain." The commodore said, ignoring her once again.  

          "Well, we're in the market, as it were."  

          "He said he'd come to commandeer one."  Murtogg said, ignoring the glare that Raine was giving him.  

          "Told ya he was telling the truth." Mullroy said, blushing from Raine's glare.  

          The commodore glanced over at the two idiots, and in that moment, Jack took the opportunity.  He tossed Raine's pistol to her, and she pointed it at Elizabeth.  While the commodore was distracted, Jack pulled his pistol out and aimed it at the commodore, who was frowning down the nose of the barrel now.  

          "We have two shot's, commodore, between the two of us.  One of them will not be used.  I'm sure it would be better if neither will be used, but for that you would have to let us go.  Who will we shoot, if provoked?"  Jack said, raising an eyebrow.  

          The commodore seemed nervous now, but he glanced at Elizabeth, who was looking distressed.  The commodore glanced at his men and started to open his mouth, but Jack cut him off.  

          "If any of your men so much as raise their guns, she will be shot." 

          "Aye, and don't think I'm afraid to kill such a pretty lass such as yerself." Raine said.  

          The commodore seemed to be making a decision.  

          Jack, meanwhile, was making his way toward Raine, very slowly.  The commodore would not simply allow them to go, so they would have to break the ice.  

          Once he was next to Raine, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.  

          "Ready, love?"  

          "What do you have in mind?"  

          Jack hesitated.  

          "Do you want to get wet?  We could jump in the water… there is the slight risk they might shoot us."  

          Raine seemed to think about this for a moment.  

          "Any better ideas?" She sighed.   Jack looked around.  

          "Yeah.  But it probably wouldn't work."  

          Raine was silent for a second.  

          "Is this the 'get caught' kind of wouldn't work, or the 'might die' kind of wouldn't work?"  She asked Jack quietly.  

          "Might die."  He answered.  She sighed.  

          "Might as well have some fun."  Jack grabbed her around the waist and took two steps back, still holding the gun out.  

          "Give me a chance to show off, love?"  

          "Anytime."  

          Jack grinned, and handed her the rest of her effects, and while she put them on, he spoke.  

          "Gentleman! M'lady…" he said to Elizabeth.   "You will always remember this as the day that you almost… caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" He turned, still holding Raine around the waist, and kicked a piece of metal that was securing a rope.  When the rope flew free, he grabbed it and Raine did also, so that they were both lifted high up and spun around.  Raine laughed, and clung tighter to the rope, but Jack looked uneasy.  The rope finally hurled them over onto another platform, where Jack struggled to keep his balance, and for once in her life, Raine did too.  

          "Hang on, Jack." She told him, and swung her handcuffs over a rope, sliding down it and landing firmly onto the dock, ahead of the soldiers running after them.  Jack hung onto her waist again, but that threw him off balance as he landed on the dock.  Raine helped his stay upright, and the two ran down the dock together, dodging bullets, and throwing each other grins about the stunt they had just pulled off.  

          "Certainly not our best…" Jack commented.  

          "We must do things like that more often!" Raine said, laughing.  

          "Do you laugh at everything?" Jack said, clearly amused.  Raine didn't answer, so he continued.  "Maybe you're right…we should leave."  

          "I have to get these handcuffs off, Jack."  Raine said, holding up her hands, which made a clanking noise.  

          "Living proof that you're not ignored all the time."  Jack pointed out.  

          "Are you ever anything but annoying?"  Raine asked him fondly.  

***~***

A/N I hoped you liked it!  I'm trying to improvise on the movie script a little, I know I cut out the important bit, but I'll fit it in later, don't worry.  

Thanks to my reviewers so far, even though I only put out the prologue… **Amy85, **drop-depp-gorgeous****** **, **and**** **SpAnIsH-EyEs2, **thanks.**

**Dimonah Tralon… **Actually, in case you wanted to know, there is something between Raine and Jack… always has been, but he's sort of a loose man… never stopped him from women in Tortuga, and Raine has never really cared what he does.  As she said before, she's not interested in being his strumpet.  But they care for each other.  

**Lyra Silvertongue 13, DarogasRainyDaae, **good job to the both of you for recognizing the title.  : D not that hard to figure out, huh?  And thanks, Daroga, for the corrections.  


	3. At The Blacksmiths

**A/N Hey all!  Just wanted to drop a little note saying that I'm not sure if I want to follow the script so closely… I tend to work a lot better when improvising.  So, let me know how you like it, savvy?  I dunno how good a job I'll do though… I like the script.  **

**Chapter Two**

Jack pushed the door of the smithy open slowly, peering in carefully, and then, satisfied, walked right in and made himself comfortable, taking off his hat.  Raine followed him closely, but was more careful about closing the door and not making a sound.  Jack turned and grinned when he noticed her looking around.  

            "It's perfectly fine, luv.  There's nobody here.  Now, let's see if we can get those off of…"

            He was interrupted by the slight clanging of a bottle of rum falling to the floor, which made both Raine and Jack jump.  She glared at him, but he didn't notice at all, walking over to inspect the man lying on the chair.  

            "Jack…" Raine started to say in an alarmed tone of voice.  

            "Shhh…" Jack told her, inspecting the unconscious man more closely and even yelling in his face.  Jack turned back to Raine with a delighted grin on his face, and then continued to taunt the drunken man, seeming to forget that the chains needed to be taken off of Raine.  Raine sighed to herself and began to walk around the room, looking at all the various tools and such, until a creaking sound was heard and both Jack and Raine snapped to attention upon hearing the door open and shut.  Raine crouched low behind a barrel, but Jack simply slipped into the shadows, realizing too late that his hat was visible.  

            A rather handsome man entered the blacksmith, making comments about how orderly everything was, and that nothing had moved from its spot, until he spotted Jack's hat.  Reaching for it, Jack jumped out of his hiding place and rapped the man's hand.  

            Raine was getting fed up with the events happening.  She wanted to get out of the blasted chains, and _now.  The longer they were in Port Royal, the unhappier she was.  _

            She stepped forward, from the barrel, and interrupted the nice little chat that was happening.  

            "Excuse me, but I would love to get out of these, if you don't mind." She held up her chains. "And then I would like to leave."  She looked suggestively at the young man, as if he should be able to come up with some sort of solution.  He hesitated.  

            "I see no reason why I shouldn't just kill you both.  _Pirates."  _

Raine sighed.  

            "That's wonderful, boy, but I really don't want to spend any longer here than I must, so please?"  

            "No!  I cannot let you both just leave!"  

            "Honestly!  What is your _problem?  What is so terrible about pirates?" Raine asked, throwing her hands up in the air. _

            The man looked at a loss for words, so Raine just sighed and turned around, looking for something she could use.  

            "If you get those chains off, will you leave?"  The man asked her.  

            She groaned, turning around and then saying to Jack; "honestly, does _nobody listen to __anything I say?"  _

            Jack grinned.  "I find everything you say to be sort of pointless, actually, so no, I don't think so." 

            Raine was glaring daggers at him.  He only grinned wider.  Finally, Raine turned back to the boy.  

            "Alright lad.  You get me out of these irons, and I swear on pain of death, Jack and I will leave."   She sent a sideways grin to Jack, who understood immediately what she was saying.  "Do we have an accord?"  

            The boy shook her hand hesitantly, and then stepped forward and nodded.  

            "Let's get started, then."  He went over to a donkey that Raine had not noticed until now, and then made the donkey start walking, so that the gears on a machine started turning.  Raine understood, and looped her chains over one of the gears, until they broke free.  

            Raine grinned when she saw her chains had been broken, and then she turned to Jack.  

            "So, Jack, where shall we go now?"  

            "You swore you would leave!"  The man shouted.  She turned to him with a grin. 

            "Aye, lad, I swore that we would leave… but you never said leave Port Royal, did you?"  She turned around and began to walk towards the door, Jack picking up his hat and doing the same.  

            Just as she was reaching for the door to pull it open, a sword flew past her head and embedded itself into the wood.  She turned around to stare at the boy, while Jack tried to pull the sword out.  Finally, the both gave each other a glance, and then began to walk toward the boy.  Who backed up, just a little.  

            "You can't both fight me."  He told them.  

            "Why not?  If we both fight you, it guarantee's we'll win." Raine asked him, shrugging.

            "It would not be a fair fight!"  He shouted desperately.  

            "And that's no incentive to fight fair, now is it?" Jack asked, raising his sword.  

            "You can't just ignore the rules of engagement!"  

            "We're pirates, mate, we ignore laws all the time.  Why shouldn't we ignore this one?"  Raine pointed out.  

            The boy thought about this for a moment, and sighed in defeat.  

            "I dislike pirates."  

            "So, have you decided you want to be killed, or are you going to move?"  Jack asked, his sword still raised.  The boy was blocking the other door.  He glanced around for a second, and then pulled out a sword, and hit Jack's sword with it.  Raine took the opportunity, when he moved, to move closer toward the door.  

            The two men began to swordfight, in an endless dance of lunges and blocks.  Jack, of course, began his usual banter.  

            "Who makes all these swords?"  

            "I do!  And I practice with them three hours a day!"  The man told him.  

            "You need to find yerself a girl, mate."  Jack said.  Raine held back a laugh, and tried to listen further.  "Or perhaps, the reason you practice three hours a day, is that you already found a girl, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet?  You're not a eunuch, are you?"

            "I'm sure he is, Jack, now let's _go."  _Raine cut in.  

            She waited for them to quit messing around, but then realized Jack didn't intend to stop.  

            "Jack!  _Jack!  _Boy, stop… _boys!"  She shouted, running into the middle and throwing their swords aside with her own.  _

            "Jack, we're leaving, _now_.  Any minute now, the British Navy is going to know we're in here, and I want to leave." 

            As if to mark her words, soldiers began banging on the door.  Raine took a few backwards steps toward the door, and Jack turned to look at the boy.  

            And then, at that moment he was hit over the head with a bottle of rum, and fell forward onto the floor.  Soldiers began to file into the shop, and Raine took the opportunity to slip out the back door, onto the streets.  

            She had to get Jack.  

            ***~*** _Twenty-Five Years Earlier***~***_

_The air was filled with ash, and smoke, and Jane could taste it on her tongue.  She was frightened, but tried to keep cool, so she could decide what to do.  As it had been her first time away from Tortuga, this little trip was going to put a dampen on her thirst for sea adventures, especially since the fire that had burnt the ship had made her lose the little family she had… Mama and Toni.  Now here she was, sitting in a life boat, getting taken back to __Tortuga__, where she would probably be put into an orphanage, or brothels. _

_            She gripped tighter the little leather band that was in her hand, and then curled up, wrapping her hands around her knees.  The leather strap smelled of smoke, but it did not bother her… she could still detect the littlest whiff of mamas perfume coming off of it.  She tied the little band around her wrist and swore she would never take it off, and then looked up through all of the smoke and saw the lights of Tortuga, if only faintly.  _

_            Soon she would be home.  _


	4. Breaking Out of Jail

**A/N I know that this is a pretty quick update… I'm addicted to this story now!  But never fear, ladies and gents… writers block coming soon.  **

**Chapter Three**

            Raine was absolutely certain Jack would be taken to the jail, so now all she had to do was find the jail and break him out.  

            Uh… where was the jail again?  She couldn't find it, even though she had been searching for nearly half and hour and she couldn't think of anywhere to look.  Finally, she just slipped back inside the Blacksmiths shop and hoped that the young man she talked to earlier would be feeling generous.  

            "Could you tell me where the jail is?"  She asked him nicely.  

            He looked up at her from what he was doing and frowned.  "What, so you can break out your friend?  I'm not stupid."  

            "I know you're not stupid, and neither am I, and that's why I want to know where the jail is, mate.  I trust ye."  

            "Well, you might not want to… I don't ever want to have anything to do with pirates ever again.  Leave before I get the Navy."  

            Raine laughed softly.  "What's yer name?"  

            "Will Turner." He said, hesitating only a little bit.  Raine choked when she heard the name.  

            "Will Turner?  Are you serious?"  

            "Yes…"  He said, unsure.  

            Raine was no longer laughing.  "You know what boy?  I think you'd better come with me to the jail."  

            "I will not."  

            Suddenly there were shrieks heard from outside.  Cannons and gunshots were heard, and Will ran to the window and pushed it open, peering out.  With narrowed eyes, he turned back to Raine.  

            "Why are there pirates destroying Port Royal?"  He asked her suspiciously.  

            Raine ran to the window and looked out, and then took a step backward, disbelief written on her face.  

            "They know you're here."  She muttered to herself, and then she shook her head.  "No, they've probably come for the medallion.  I must get Jack out!"  

            "You are not going anywhere."  Will said, and he pushed her against a wall and shoved his sword through her sleeve.  

            She looked down at it and laughed.  

            "You're not going to make me take my shirt off, are you?"  

            "You'd better not, pirate, or you'll be sorry."  

            "Look, my name is Raine, alright, and I don't see why you still think being a pirate is a bad thing.  It's bloody fun, mate, and it's in yer bloo…" she broke off suddenly, and Will frowned.  

            "What were you going to say?"  

            "Nothing, just that you should try it sometime."  Raine said, grinning at him.  She reached up to her sleeve and ripped the fabric so it came off.  She grinned and turned back to Will.  

            "You can't pin me down, mate."  She said, leaning forward oh so slightly.  "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd rather like to know where I can find Jack."  

            "Well, you'll have to do it on your own.  I'm helping my town."  

            Raine scowled at him, but went and stood by the door, opening it and then stepping out.  Before she left, she turned to face Will.  

            "I'll be seeing you again, William Turner."  She stepped back, away from the door, into the shadows where nobody would find her.  All she had to do was stay away from bombs and cannons.  

            She watched as Will stepped out and hastened to kill people.  It was very important that this young man does not die.  

            "I'll be watching out for you, Will."  She muttered to herself, and decided to follow him.  

            However, she did not interfere unless she was certain she needed to… she was too late to keep him from being knocked unconscious.  

            When Will was awakened in the morning, it was from Raine standing over him, shaking him awake.  

            "You are taking me to the jail."  She told him, actually slightly frantic now.  

            Will looked around and then something seemed to register in his mind.  

            "Elizabeth."  He muttered, ignoring her.  Raine stared at him for a moment.  

            "Oh."  She said.  "Elizabeth Swann was taken by the pirates.  I know that Jack and I could help you find her…"

            But she was cut off as Will jumped up and ran to find the commodore.  

            "That's right."  She muttered.  "Nobody listen to me.  Even though I'm right.  Stupid idiot."  

            But she followed him all the same.  Even listened to the conversation.  But she only caught bits and fragments of it, the parts where Will wanted to talk to Jack.  

            She waited for him and then followed him to the jail, trailing him down the stairs to the cells.  He still didn't know that she was there.  She watched him walk up to Jack's cell, where Jack was lying on the floor.  

            "You, Sparrow."  Will said.  

            "Aye." Jack said, raising his head.  He squinted into the shadows, and then grinned.  "Ah, Raine!  Glad you made it!"  

            Will turned around, confusion written across his face, as Raine stepped forward with a grin.  "You followed me." Will said to her, not angrily, just in a matter-of-fact sort of way.  

            "Aye, I did.  And as for what you want to know, Will, Jack and I can help you get to the Pearl and rescue your dear Elizabeth."  

            Jack sat up and grinned at Will.  

            "Oh, so it is that you found a girl!  Well, Raine dear, I don't see any reason why we should help the man.  So no.  Get me out of here."  

            "Jack…" Raine said.  "This is William Turner.  He wants to go after the Black Pearl."  She raised her eyebrows, as if daring Jack to take back what he said.  Jack stood up, his eyes narrowed, and looked at Will.  

            "He does look like Bootstrap."  Jack said quietly to Raine.  Raine nodded, and Will looked confused.  Jack and Raine exchanged glances… both of them looked terribly sad.  But Will brought them out of it.  

            "If we're going to leave, it should be done quickly.  I will get you out."  

            "How's that?"  Jack asked gesturing at the door.  "The keys run off."  

            "Don't need keys, idiot, the guys a blacksmith."  Raine said, smacking her forehead.  

            "I wouldn't do that if I were you, luv."  Jack said, as Will picked up the bench.  "Could cause damage to yer pretty lil head.  Will, what _are _you doing?"

            "Well," Will said, setting the bench against the bars.  "With the proper application of strength, the door will lift free.  It's a matter of leverage."  

            "Yes, yes, and all that mumbo-jumbo…" Raine said, her eyes bursting with excitement.  "Hurry up, Will, get him out, we have to go!"  

***~***

            _Jack slipped down the streets of __Tortuga__ warily… since he was only ten years old, he was still unsure he trusted himself to be around and about at nighttime.  There were plenty of untrustworthy people around.  He was headed toward the docks to see if there was any news of a ship which he could work on.  It had been his dream ever since he was a child to become a pirate like his father and mother.  On his way there, he bumped into a girl who was hurrying in the same direction, only slower.  _

_            "Sorry."  He mumbled to her, and kept going.  He turned to look at her, but then stopped when he saw her face.  She was crying.  _

_            "What's wrong?"  He asked, bending over and wiping one of the tears from her cheek.  _

_            "I'm running away."  She said firmly.  "I want to be a pirate."  Jack was startled at the calm confidence in her voice… and he was sure that she could do it if she wanted to.  _

_            "Come with me then."  He said.  "I'm doing the same thing."  _

_            He took her hand and the two of them together hurried down toward the docks, both of them feeling much safer when they have a companion.  _

_            "What's your name?"  Jack asked her.  _

_            "Jane Raine.  Please don't call me Jane.  Who are you?"_

_            "Jack Sparrow."_


	5. Commandeering a ship

**A/N Ok, ppls!  Here's your new update, and I hope you like it.  I've been working really hard on this story… I hope you'll find that some of the mistakes that were in earlier chapters are gone; however, if you find one or have a suggestion, those corrections are always welcome!  I appreciate both criticism and praise (although, of course, you can guess which one is more welcome.) **

**Chapter 4**

**            "**We're going to steal a ship."  Will said more than asked as the three of them peered around form behind the bridge.  "That ship?"  He asked pointing at the Dauntless.  

            "Never!  Never _steal_!"  Raine told him, smiling just a little.  "Really, boy, if you can't get the terms right, then I understand exactly why you don't like pirates so much!"  

            "That's right."  Jack said.  "Commandeer.  We're going to commandeer, that ship.  One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going.  This girl… how far are you willing to go to save her?"  

            "Aye, boy, and this is important, so answer wisely.  Jack won't take your words lightly."  

            Will didn't even hesitate.  "I'd die for her."  

            "Well, that's sweet of you.  Excuse me while I vomit." Raine said, turning her attention back to the Dauntless.  Will looked confused, and he and Jack exchanged a glance behind her back.  

            Raine giggled and straightened back up again, turning to Jack.  

            "So, what this time, Jack?  Distraction?  Kidnapping?  Breathing underwater?  Or perhaps you have some new plan?"  

            Will looked confused, but Jack just grinned.  "You really want to do the underwater thing again, don't you love?"  

            "Oh, please Jack?  That was wonderful fun, you have to admit!"  

            "Alright, darling, underwater it is then."  

            "Yes!  Yes, yes, yes!"  Raine said, jumping up and hugging him.  Will looked totally out of it, and Jack looked nervous, like he desperately wanted her to let go.  

            "Get off me, before I change my mind."  He muttered, and Raine sprang off and began looking around.  

            "What are we doing?"  Will asked, trying to understand.  

            "Having a little fun, mate!"  Raine said, spotting a canoe and running to it.  She lifted up the side and looked underneath.  "Will this do, Jack?"  

            "Well enough love."  

            She grinned at him.  

            "Ye look like a kid who's just been told he could have some… some…" 

            "Rum?" Raine asked, still grinning.  

            "Yea." Jack said, sliding under the boat after her and Will.  Raine was in the middle, with Jack in front and Will in back.  

            "So… what exactly are we doing?" Will whispered.  

            "Shhh!" Raine said.  "Wouldn't it be a fine thing if someone walking by heard voices coming from under this boat?"  She had an amused tone to her voice, but neither man could see her expression.  It was always hard to tell Raine's moods.  

            "Jane just loves playing tricks on people." Jack said to Will.  

            "Jane?" Will asked.  

            "I told you to stop calling me Jane, Jack!  One more time, and I'll…"

            "How many times have you threatened me?" Jack asked, amused.  

            "More than I should have to put up with." Raine muttered.  

            "Your name is Jane?" Will asked, still utterly out of the conversation.  

            "Are you stupid, or do you just not understand things when they're laid out right before your eyes?" Raine asked him, turning her head slightly.  Will didn't respond.  But both Jack and Raine were thinking the same thing… maybe it would be a good thing if he was stupid.  He wouldn't catch on.  

            "Alright, let's go." Jack whispered to the other two, and they lifted the boat and began walking toward the waters edge.  

            Walking underwater was a curious sensation… they could breathe, but the shoulders down were soaked completely.  It was something Will hadn't experienced before at all, and no wonder why.  

            "This is either madness or brilliance."  Will said.  

            "It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide." Jack finished for him.  

            "You know, boy, when you're with Jack, it's not hard at all to run into that particular paradox all the bloody time."  

            "I will never get used to a woman swearing." Will told her.  

            "You'd better, boy.  I'm not stopping my habits for you."  

            "Why do you keep calling me boy?  I'm not that much younger than you, I'm sure."  

            Both Raine and Jack burst out laughing.  

            "Would you prefer to be called Eunuch?"  Jack suggested.  

            "What?" Both Raine and Will said.  

            "Never mind…" Jack muttered.  

            "Obviously I missed that one, mate!  Shame too, because it sounded great." Raine told him, slipping just a little on some sand.  You could almost hear Jack beaming with pride at her words, but unfortunately in the position they were in, neither Raine nor Will could see it.  

            "Watch the trap, Will." Raine whispered, stepping over the wooden box.  

            "Too late." Will whispered back sheepishly.  

            "No reason to whisper." Jack informed them.    "Unless you don't want the little fishies to hear what you're saying."  

            When he said this in a rather loud voice, both Raine and Will had to cover their ears.  His voice echoed over the entire inside rim and made it about five times louder than it actually was.  

            "Sorry." Jack said sheepishly.  

            "Am I the only one here who can actually be intelligent at some moments in their lives?" Raine muttered.  

            "Hey, whose idea was this in the first place, the first time we did this?  Shut up, Janie dear."  

            "I'm warning you, Jack…"

            "Yes, darling, we all know it drives you nuts.  We just don't care.  Plus, you were nuts to begin with."  

            Jack waited for some cocky response to come from behind him, but there was nothing.  

            "She's gone!" Will said suddenly.  

            "What do you mean, she's…" Jack turned around and gasped when he realized Will and he were the only ones in the boat.  

            "I just closed my eyes for a second, and then…" Will said, panic stricken.  

            Jack let go of the boat and ducked under it, looking around anxiously with his eyes open.  He suddenly realized that he would have to swim up to the surface to get air, and started kicking, as quickly as he could.  Maybe Raine would be up there.  

            When he surfaced, taking a deep breath, his eyes widened upon seeing the Dauntless sailing toward him, nearly on top of him.  It would have run him over…. He was frozen in shock… but then he was tossed a rope from the deck up on the Dauntless.  Grabbing it, he was hauled aboard, and when he finally stood on his sodden legs, there was will and Raine standing in front of him.  

            "You're such an idiot, Jack." Raine said, offering him her hand. He didn't take it; of course… both of them had a sort of unwritten rule never to take help like that from the other.  "Will and I both noticed when it was the perfect time to get up."  

            Jack mumbled something incoherent and then straightened up to look at her.  He pulled her straight against him and just looked at her for a moment, her brown eyes deep pools, her normally mousy brown hair now a dark brown from the water, and a droplet running down the tip of her nose.  

            "Scared the life out of me, luv."  He said in a low voice.  

            "Consider it your punishment." She said in the same low tone.  "Just remember that next time, that I have the power to run you over with ships."  

            Jack laughed.  "I meant you disappearing like that."  Raine grinned.  

            "I can be invisible if I want to."  

            They were both very aware suddenly of Will standing close by, awkwardly trying to not overhear what they were saying.  

            "Right then, down to business." Raine said, pulling away from Jack."  He had a sort of awkward smile on his face as he silently handed her his jacket.  She took it with slight confusion, before looking at her shirt and turning red, pulling the jacket on quickly.  Wet white shirts are not pleasant things to be wearing in the company of men.  

            Jack hesitated.  "You want to get the rudder, luv?"  Raine scowled.  

            "I always have to get the rudder.  You just don't want to be seen with a female."  

            Jack grinned.  "You know how I hate women, darling."  

            "Oh, I know it better than most people." Raine agreed, sighing and hiding behind a crate.   

            "Alright, Jack, I'll see to the rudder chain after you empty the ship.  Savvy?"  

            "Savvy, darling." He said, giving her a little salute before turning and marching a few steps… then he turned back around and frowned at Will, who was following him.  

            "Uh, actually, Will, why don't you stay with Raine?"  

            Raine and Will both looked at each other with a horrified glance and then turned back to Jack and began to protest.  

            "Just… stay here, savvy?  You don't have to talk or anything, just stay out of trouble."  

            Will looked back at Raine and then back at Jack with a pleading look.  

            "Don't worry about it, mate.  She's perfectly easy to handle.  Just… don't call her Jane."  

            Will took a few steps back and Jack grinned at them both before turning away.  

            Raine immediately turned and hoisted herself up onto a bench, lifting her feet up too, so she disappeared from view.  Will stood around awkwardly, not sure whether he should try and hide or not.  

            "Uh, Raine?"  He asked.  

            "Yes?" She asked him back, with the slightest twinge of irritation.  

            Will bit his lip.  "How did you and Jack meet?"  

            For a moment, she didn't say anything, and Will was afraid that maybe he'd hurt her feelings or something.  

            "We ran away from home together."  She finally said.  

            "Oh." Will said wanted her to continue, but knowing she wouldn't unless he prodded further.  

            But he didn't want to actually hurt her feelings by prodding.  

            "Where did you get your tattoo?  Didn't you tell Norrington that you didn't know?"  

            She peered over the edge of the bench at him, and frowned.  

            "Were you spying, or did you just hear that from someone?"  

            "I just heard it."  Will said, without the slightest bit of awkwardness, just curiosity.  Raine sighed.  

            "Well, boy, I lied.  I do know where I got it, alright?"  

            Will waited for her to continue, but she didn't.  

            Suddenly, they both heard Jack's voice.  

            "Gone!" He called out, and Raine jumped down from the bench with ease and made her way down to the deck, Will following.  

            "What now?"  He asked.  "How are we going to make it out of the bay?  There is a ship following us, in full sail." Will pointed out.  

            "In case you hadn't noticed, boy," Raine said with exasperation.  "We've done this before, and have a plan in mind.  Now, will you just have patience and a little faith?"  

            ***~***

            _Jack sat in the galley, across from Raine, and watched her peel potatoes.  He was doing it too, of course, but he couldn't help but notice a thin leather strap around her wrist.  _

_            "Where did you get that?" He asked her quietly.  She glanced at it and then back at him, and put down her knife for a second, twisting the leather around her wrist a few times.  _

_            "My mother and brother Toni died in a fire on a boat, and this is the only thing that I have that was theirs.  I didn't want to lose it, and I didn't want to forget them, so I wear it around my wrist."  _

_            Jack nodded solemnly, understanding that it was hard for her to say.  They had only known each other for a few weeks, and getting her to trust him had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.  But now she trusted him with her life, after he saved her from a dangerous wave during a storm… neither had been swept overboard, of course, but Raine might've if he hadn't snagged her.  _

_            "You won't forget me, will you?"  _

_            Their eye's met, and Raine bit her lip.  _

_            "I don't want to."  She said.  _

_            The next day, both of them talked to the first mate, and he suggested getting a tattoo, something that they would both recognize in case one of them was so hideously disfigured from torture or something, and they thought that it was a great idea.  Except for the torture bit… it made Raine sick to think about.  _

_            They took a while in picking out the design… Raine wanted hers on her arm, but Jack wanted him is a less visible place… his lower back… and they decided on two swords crossed in an X.  On the hilt of each blade, in tiny letter, were the initials JS and JR.  _


	6. Tortuga

**A/N Yes.****  Here it is.  Have fun.  I was contemplating this story, and I decided that Raine is a bit of a Mary-Sue, so far.  I'm sorry if she seems that way.  I have a terrible habit of doing that.  I'll try and change her, but I'm not sure how well it will turn out.  Hard to change characters once you've started to develop them.  I fixed a few mistakes from earlier chapters, but tiny ones, which won't matter to you if you've already read this and loved it.  (Hehe) Read on, and rock on, my dear reviewers.  I've left out the part where they steal the Interceptor instead of the Dauntless, because I couldn't think of a way to make that any more original, and you all know what happens anyway.  **

**Oh, and by the way I know that Raine is a tad bit annoying: D that's sort of on purpose.  **

**Chapter Five**

Once the three were safely aboard the Interceptor, sailing at full sail away from the baffled sailors in the British Navy, who were trying in vain to catch up to them, were they fully able to relax.  Will began to sharpen his sword, and Jack took his place at the helm, while Raine sort of wandered, pulling at ropes here and there, and leaning far out over the railing, until Jack told her that she was making him nervous.  After which she stuck her tongue out at him and leaned over further, pretending to slip forward slightly so that Jack became annoyed.  

            In an effort to break up their silent quarrel, Will followed Raine around to watch her tug on ropes and check on various things, until she finally sighed and turned to him.  

            _"Why are you following me around, boy?"  Will glanced at Jack, who was humming something and staring at his compass, and fully content that Jack was not listening, Will turned back to Raine.  _

            "Are you and Jack… you know…?" 

            Raine just stared at him.  "What do you mean?"  

            "In love." Will said, blushing furiously.  Raine furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side.  

            "You were following me for _that?"  _

"Well, what is your answer?" Will asked again, ignoring her question.  

            "Love is a strong word."  She said, sitting down on a crate and leaning over the railing.  "Jack and I go way back… I can barely remember ever being without him, actually.  He's like my big brother… and I'm his little sister, y'know?  We look out for each other, sort of.  It's never really been a big deal."  She shrugged and grinned.  "I'm not the type of person to get attached to anything… Jack is though; he loves the Pearl more than anything else.  I would do anything to see that man back where he belongs."  

            "Jack was captain of the Pearl?"  Will asked, trying to absorb what she was saying.  Raine sighed.  

            "There's no talking to you, is there?  You missed the point, boy."  She stood up off her crate, and walked back over to where Jack was standing. Then she asked him a question and when he answered, she scowled and went downstairs into the hold.  Will decided to try talking to Jack.  

            "Er… Jack?"  

            "Aye." Jack said, and it was clear that he wasn't paying attention at all.  But Will continued anyways.  

            "I don't think I could get used to women pirates."  

            Jack finally glanced his way.  "Doesn't matter whether you can get used to it or not, mate.  That's just what she is."  

            "I know, but… I mean, it's hard to imagine her with a sword and all, fighting or something…"

            "She can't use it." Jack interrupted.  

            "Pardon?"  

            "She'll most likely kill me for telling you this, but she never learned how to use that sword.  She carries it because she thinks it makes her look more like a pirate, and because she's so used to carrying it around.  At least she can lift it."  

            "She can't use it?" Will asked.  

            Jack sighed, turning to Will.  "Raine was right.  You don't ever listen, do you?  Ok, let me rephrase… nobody ever taught her how to use that sword.  I learned from a man who refused to teach women, and I never was a very good teacher so I couldn't teach her.  She is impatient and clumsy when it comes to swordfighting, so she just gave up on that aspect of her career.  Do you understand now, William?"  

            "Yes." Will said quickly, and you could practically see the gears in his mind turning.  

            "Well, you'll be around pirates a lot more often now… it's in your blood, boy, and there's no escaping that.  Not all pirates are males, though females are uncommon."

            "What do you mean, it's in my blood?  My father was a merchant sailor, my mother a respectable citizen.  There is no piracy in my veins."  

            "Now, I wonder if your mother was just lying to you, or if she truly believed that your father, William Turner, also call Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill, was only a merchant."  Jack said, turning back to the helm.  

            "My father was not a pirate!" Will said, drawing his sword and pointing it at Jack.  "And there's no Raine here to help you now, so lets have it, a fair fight!"  

            "Not wise, boy, to be crossing blades with a pirates."  Jack said shoving his sword away with his hand.  He turned to the wheel and spun it around, so that the sails came flying around to hit Will.  

            "Now as long as you're just hanging there, listen up," Jack said.  "There are only two things that really matter.  What a man…" 

            "_What are you doing?"  Raine's voice came from behind him. She seemed shocked, and she was practically running toward them, across the deck.  _

            "Oh no…" Jack muttered in a low voice.  He backed up a bit as Raine spun the wheel, making the sails come back over the deck.  Will fell to the floor, and Raine turned to Jack, walking until she was right under his nose, in his face.  

            "_What do you think you're doing, Jack?"  She lowered her voice so Will wouldn't hear._  "_Can't you just for once be and honest, caring person and talk to the boy instead of threatening him?  If he dies, we're going to be in a rather full pot of boiling water.  If he doesn't want to believe it, he doesn't have to.  That's not our problem."  _

            "He has to at least know who his father is.  Was."  

            "Fine."  She turned around and walked over to Will, helping him up.  Then she lifted his face so he was looking into her eyes, and she said, "Will, you're father was Bootstrap Bill, one of the finest pirates there ever was.  That's nothing to be ashamed of, and it's something you have no choice but to believe, savvy?"  

            Will frowned.  "I still don't think…"

            "Did I say that you had a choice?" Raine asked him, her temper taking over.  "Nobody ever said you had to be a pirate, boy, but will you just admit to yourself that you have pirate blood?"  

            Will said nothing.  

            Raine left it be… if he still didn't want to believe, that wasn't her problem.  Although it was making her mad.  

            Jack led the way through the streets of Tortuga, with Will following closely behind him staring in disgust at all the women prancing around obscenely and men drunkenly helping themselves to the women.  Raine bounced around with delight, winking at some people and calling out to some of the women here or there.  Will just stared, until Jack found himself needing to explain.  

            "Only home she's ever known." He muttered so Raine wouldn't hear.  "Everybody's got to have a place to keep their heart."  

            Once Jack managed to find Gibbs and drag the three of them into The Faithful Bride, which was not easy, because Raine kept finding a million other places and people that she had to visit before they could leave again, he ordered the rums and otherwise kept the three of them on task… Jack was the only one who seemed to have a direct purpose in mind.  

            It was hard for her, but Raine managed to shut up.  Taking the mug of rum Jack gave her, she prepared to follow him into the back room, but he stopped her, putting up a finger.  

            "Keep an eye on the eunuch, Raine, please.  Please do this for me."  

            Raine had that hurt look in her eyes which he hated so much.  

            "Raine, please darling, do this for me."  

            "I want the Pearl back just as much as you do, and I understand what is going on!"  

            "Well, you understand just as well as I, which is why you won't need to be part of the conversation.  You already know everything I have to say, about Will and the Pearl!  Please, Raine, just… stay here."   

            Raine turned around and walked back to the doorway where Will was standing, not saying anything to Jack, but clearly angry.  Will opened his mouth to speak to her, in an effort to calm her down or something, failing miserably anyway.  

            "Don't say it." Raine said to his sharply, sipping at the mug of rum Jack had bought her.  She stared at it for a second and then frowned and set it down on the table, pushing it away from her.  

            "I never get to hear the plan." She said quietly, and Will only just barely heard her.  

            ***~***

            _Jack stood at the helm proudly, admiring his ship.  He had dreamed of it being his for his whole life, of having his very own freedom waiting for his command.  He ran his eyes over his ship fondly, thinking of every curve and cranny on the ship, all of which he knew, since he helped build it._

_            His eyes settled on Raine, who was watching him from the ratlines, leaning against the ropes with an annoying grin on her face, just watching him.  _

_            "What?" He asked, curious as to what she was thinking, just… staring at him like that.  _

_            "It's just that… oh, I don't know… you look like you belong there."  _

_            She gave him a sad little smile, and climbed down from the ropes, starting to walk below deck.  _

_            "Raine, wait." Jack called after her.  She turned around to look at him.  "You belong here too."_

_            She walked back to him and set her hands on the helm beside him.  _

_            "I know that, genius.  We got into this together, remember?"  _

_            "Aye," Jack said, squinting into the horizon.  "But I'm doing all the work."  _

_            "You wish."_

_            "I know."_

_            "Yeah right.  They should be calling _me _captain." _

_            "Ah," Jack grinned.  "But they're not, love."  _

_            "Shut up."  _


	7. A Suitable Crew

**A/N Well… I don't know.  Thanks to my reviewers who have assured me that Raine is not a Mary-Sue…  I'm sorry but I don't believe you.  She's incredibly annoying, actually, but I'm sure she's a Mary-Sue and it's something I can't exactly change, now can I?  But it still bothers me.  **

**Wow, I'm on chapter 6 already and I still haven't thanked reviewers.  Okay, here goes.  **(**Wow, there are soooo many of you…) VagrantCandy, Jessicagreenblue, Lady Phedre, Daroga's Rainy Daae, kmshalias, Oria*Rose, Dimonah Tralon, Blues Goddess, lemluvspirates, Emily Knibbe (WILL TURNER!!!), just2spooky, Rood-Roosje, Pirate Rhi, Rainne, Jorja, ****and gypsy.  ****Really, thank you to all of you, even you Lady Phedre**.  Flames are welcome as ever.  How can I be upset with all of you rooting me on?  I'm afraid the guts of this chapter might be rather short… I'm in a bit of a hurry, you must understand.****

**Chapter 6**

Raine leaned back against the door and sighed, staring at Will.  He was trying to over hear the conversation going on between Jack and Gibbs, but Raine knew better than to let that happen.  

            "So Will, boy, tell me more about this lass.  Do you think she's the kind of girl to fall in love with you after you rescue her?"  

            Will frowned.  "I'm not sure… I mean, that's not important.  That's not why…" It would have been one of those things that would make Raine smile, but she didn't, she just stared at the floor.

            "You're so much like Bootstrap, you know that?" she said, shaking her head slightly.  "He loved his wife and child more than anything, mate."  

            There was an awkward silence as Will realized that she had known his father, just like Jack.  

            "What happened to him?" Will asked, leaning forward.  Raine looked up into his eyes, perhaps searching for something, but then she shook her head.  

            "Honestly? I don't know.  He was killed or something, by Barbossa's crew.  He was a good man.  A good… good friend." She said, and there was another awkward silence.  

            "So, Jack tells me that you don't know how to use your sword." Will said, in another pathetic attempt to make conversation.  

            Raine glanced at Jack and sent him a glare, and then turned back to Will with narrowed eyes.  

            "Did he?"  

            "Yes.  Well, I was wondering if you would like to learn how.  I could teach you."  

            Raine shrugged.  "I doubt you could teach me in the next few days, lad, and that's only about the time we have to do this.  Besides, I'll live.  Jack rescues me all the time.  Whether I want him to or not."  She muttered something under her breath about Jack, which Will didn't catch, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know what she said either.  Just then, Jack and Gibbs clanked their mugs together, drawing the immediate attention of Will and Raine.  

            Raine stepped forward.  

            "Can we go now, Jack?  It's bloody boring here.  Why did I get stuck with the eunuch?"  She turned and walked out of the Faithful Bride, obviously expecting Jack and Will to follow.  Will waited behind while Jack stood up and started toward the door, but before he could get there, Will stopped him.  

            "She's not very nice to me."  He said quietly.  

            "She's nicer to you than she is to most people, boy."  Jack said quietly.  "She's never really been that nice to anybody though."  

            "Well then, I suppose I'm honored."  

            Jack grinned.  "You respectable citizens and your crazy ideas.  Honored?"  

            Will watched him exit after Raine, and then turned to Gibbs to comment on Jack.  

            "Don't even say it, boy."  Gibbs said, following Jack out the door.  "The two of them might be crazy, but they seem to be alive and well, so what is there not to trust?"  

            When Will finally got outside, Gibbs said farewell to the three and went off to gather the sailors, and in the meantime, Jack, Raine, and Will headed back to the interceptor to get some rest.  

            Jack scanned the faces standing in front of him… indeed they were a sorry, miserable sight, but it truly was his kind of crew.  

            "It is a bit sad, but then again, who said that we would have to stick with them after we have the Pearl?" Raine muttered so only he would hear.  

            "So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will said, more than just a touch of doubt in his voice.  

            "You sailor!" Jack said, stopping before a man with a parrot on his shoulder.  

            "Jack, wait a second." Raine said impatiently.  Jack ignored her.  

            "Cotton, sir." Gibbs said, referring to the man with the parrot.  

            "Cotton!  Do you have the courage and fortitude to…?"

            "Dammit Jack don't ignore me!"  Raine interrupted him.  Jack continued.  

            "…follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?  Mr. Cotton!  Answer, man!"  

            Raine protested loudly.  "Will you just listen to me, just for once?  Jack!" He still ignored her.  Gibbs continued.  

            "He's a mute, sir.  Poor devil got his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him.  Now one's yet figured how."  

            "Jack! Down by the end, is…"

            "Mr. Cottons… parrot.  Same question."  Raine sighed dramatically and put her hand on her forehead, once again ignored.  

            "Wind in the sails!  Wind in the sails!"  The parrot said.  

            "Mostly, we figure that means yes."  Gibbs said.  

            "Of course it does.  Are you satisfied?" Jack asked Will.  Raine said nothing, which was a first for her… but she was quite obviously angry at Jack.  

            "Well, you've proved they're mad." Will said.  

            "And what's the benefit for us?" A strangely female voice called from the end.  Raine took a few steps back from the voice, but Jack stepped forward, stopping just near the end of the line, in front of a figure with a large hat on.  He pulled the hat off.  

            "Anamaria." He said, glancing back to where Raine was. Anamaria slapped him, and then interrupted what he was about to say next.  

            "Where is Raine?  I know she's here somewhere.  I'll kill her when I find her!" She pointed her finger at Jack.  "You stole my boat."  

            "Actually, I believe its called borrowing, without permission." Raine said, stepping forward and pointing her finger in the air.  She stepped backward quickly as Anamaria moved to slap her.   

            "It wasn't even that great of a boat anyway." Raine said, shrugging.  "Sunk before we could even tie it up."  She covered her mouth quickly.  

            "You sunk my boat?" Anamaria repeated dumbly.  She frowned.  

            "You will get another one." Raine said, to cover up for her mistake.  Anamaria glared at her.  

            "A better one." Jack said quickly.  

            "That one." Will said, pointing to the interceptor.  

            "Aye, that one." Jack said quickly.  "What do you say?"  

            Anamaria turned to Raine.  "I agree.  But only if _she keeps out of my way."  _

            Raine took a step to the side, as if clearing a path to the ship for Anamaria.  When Ana and the other crewmember turned and marched up the ship, she turned to Jack.  

            "_I bloody told you she was there…" Raine started, bursting with anger.  "__But no, let's not listen to me… nobody ever listens to me, dammit Jack, did you think that what I had to say could have waited, the way I kept interrupting you?"  Jack seemed to literally shrink under the glare she was giving him.  _

            "Alright, love, alright, you were right, I'm sorry." Jack said quickly, if only to get her to shut up.  Will seemed to be enjoying what was going on.  _  Jack glared at him, but then called to the crewmates, "Let's get moving!  Anchors aweigh!"  _

            Gibbs frowned at Raine and Anamaria and turned to Jack.  

            "It's frightful bad luck…"

            "I've been sailing with women my whole life, mate, do you think that I will change my mind now?"  Jack interrupted him.  

            ***~***

            _The boat rocked fiercely in the midst of the storm, and yet Jack stood firm at the helm of the Pearl… having complete faith in all of his crewmates made it easier for him to stay brave, so he tried not to think of all the bad things that could happen.  _

_            Raine was only a few feet away, as usual, and she tied a rope around her waist with shaking hands, and then tossed another rope to another man.  _

_            The man was soaked, because of the storm, but everyone else was sodden also.  He hair dark brown hair and eyes and was tall and tanned, and handsome.  He quickly tied the rope tossed to him around his waist also.  When he looked up again to meet Raine's eyes, even he could see she was grinning at him through the storm, and he quickly looked away.  _

_            Jack called an order to them, unheard through the wind, and Raine wiped her wet bangs away from her face and called back to Jack.  _

_            "What did you say?"  _

_            He repeated the order, and her eyes widened, turning to the sea.  _

_            "Bootstrap!"  She shouted, referring to the other man.  "Move!"  _

_            But it was too late for either to move, because a wave crashed over the deck, over both of them, and both were left disoriented in the mass of salty pressure, unsure of which was up or where they were.  Bootstrap recovered faster and grabbed the rope around his waist, pulling himself to a better place, and he grabbed Raine's rope also, before realizing it had snapped.  He panicked and jumped over to the railing, leaning over to see where she might be.  _

_            He turned around when he heard coughing behind him, and was relieved to find Raine standing, still on deck, only leaning on the mast weakly.  She lifted her head to meet Bootstrap's eyes, and grinned weakly.  _

_            "Are you both alright?" Jack called from the helm, and their attention was drawn to him… he looked them over with concerned eyes, and left the helm temporarily to his first mate, Barbossa, walking over to see if any harm was done.  _

_            "Fine, Jack." Raine said, still grinning weakly.  The three of them staring into the choppy depths for a moment until Raine started to giggle.  _

_            "What?" Both men said, almost simultaneously, annoyed that she was laughing.  _

_            "Bill, you thought… I was…"  She stopped laughing for a moment and grinned again.  "You're just too gullible."  She said.  _

_            "I'm not allowed to be afraid you might have died?" Bill said, clearly irritated.  _

_            Jack and Raine both looked at him oddly.  _

_            "What's up with you?" Jack said.  _

_            "Nothing." Bill muttered, looking at Raine and then tossing her the rope around her waist.  "Get a better rope.  We're not out of this storm yet."  _


	8. Storm

**A/N I hope you like the way I've sort of changed the past for Bootstrap and Raine… Don't worry, you'll see… in the memory at the end of the chappy! _No skipping ahead!!!_**

**Chapter Seven**

Will spotted Raine in the middle of the storm and walked over, slipping slightly on the soaking wet deck.  She was tying rope to the mast, and she tossed him a rope and then picked up another one and tied it around her own waist.  Will tried to do the same thing as her, tying the rope around his waist, and then before she could go anywhere, he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.  

            "You knew my father, Raine?"  He asked her, shouting over the wind.  A sort of saddened look passed over her eyes quickly when he said this, but the next moment it was gone so that Will thought perhaps it had never been there at all.  

            "I was closer to Bootstrap than anybody else.  Even Jack.  Don't ask me about _knew.  I loved the man."  _

            "…loved?  You mean, like brother-sister love, like with Jack?"  Will say nervously.  Raine looked at him for a second, and then shook her head, yes.  

            "Yeah, Will.  Brother-sister." 

            Will hesitated.  "Raine, you said that Jack was captain?"  

            "Yeah?"  She said, pushing her wet hair away from her face.  She looked a bit like a drowned rat, at that moment, soaked from head to toe.  Her hair looked black from the water, and it was plastered to her face, although the braided parts weren't sticking so well.  She wasn't wearing her hat, because it would have blown off, but her bandanna was also soaked.  The only thing about her that looked unaffected by the rain was her eyes. 

            "Well… who was his first mate?"  

            Raine made a face.  "Bloody Barbossa.  The captain who took your dear bonny lass."  

            "Why weren't you or my father first mate?"  

            Raine shrugged.  "Bootstrap didn't want the position."  

            "Well, why not you?"  

            For a moment, she seemed to be struggling with finding an answer to his question. 

            "I mean, you wanted the position, right?"  Will asked, trying to sense what she was thinking.   

            "Aye."  She said, turning away from him.  The boat rocked and they both slipped on the deck, and the wind whipped harshly as everyone on the ship clung desperately to it, because if they fell in, they would be lost.  

            "So why…" Will started again, but she cut him off.  

            "You'll have to ask Jack.  I have no bloody idea."  

            Will drew back a bit at her hostility, but then pressed forward again.  

            "Shouldn't we stop?  This storm is terrible." 

            "If we stop now, boy, then your pretty little lass could be dead by the time we get there.  Jack and I were under the impression that you wanted to rescue her, but if not, hey, we'll just stop right here in the middle of the ocean and wait out this storm."  Raine snapped at him.  Will turned and looked at Jack, who was standing proudly at his helm, even in the midst of the rain.  He looked calm and confident, which was exactly the opposite of all the other crewmembers, even Raine.  Even if she knew that they had to continue, it was obviously that she would rather not be sailing in so violent a storm.  

            "Jack is bloody crazy." Will muttered.  Nobody heard because of the storm, but even if they had, it made no difference… everyone already knew that Jack was crazy.  

            When the storm was over, there was a heavy fog laying caution and mystery over everything.  There was tension between the crewmembers, as if they were all waiting for something terrible to happen, but nothing did, so the Interceptor drifted lazily through the fog, bringing them closer and closer to their destination.  

            Will managed to catch Anamaria in one of the few times when she was not doing something, or scowling in Raine's general direction. 

            "What did she do in the first place?" Will asked Anamaria, indicating Raine.  

            "Do?" Ana said, turning toward him and frowning.   "Do?  I met Jack in a tavern and figured that he was single and I could get a bloody drink or two off him.  Then he introduced bloody Raine, who follows him like a puppy, and we all went and had some drinks.  They were both pretending to be drunk, until I got drunk too, and then I must have told them where I had my boat.  I don't really remember much about that night except that when I woke up, I was still in the tavern, and Jack was gone.  I asked Raine where he went, and she said to steal my boat, so I jumped up real fast and went straight for the door.  But before I could go anywhere, the bitch pulled a knife on me, and when I reached for my own knife, it was gone.  She locked me in the closet, and after she left, I pounded on the thick door for three bloody hours until somebody realized they needed a bloody cloth and opened the bloody closet door!  By that time, of course, they were both gone with my ship…" She trailed off and glared angrily and meaningfully at Raine.  Will decided to change the subject. 

            "So what do you know about Jack?"  

            Anamaria frowned and thought for a moment.  "Nothing, really, except what the stories say."  

            "And what do the stories say?"  

            "You don't want to know, mate."  

            ***~***

            _Bootstrap and Jack were at the helm, discussing the course they were on.  Their current course was set for the Isle De Muerta, where they had heard of a large hoard of treasure.  Unlike Raine, Bootstrap insisted that he always know the plan, so of course, Jack told him.  In the middle of their conversation, Raine stepped awkwardly up to the helm, and the talk stopped abruptly, as both men stared at her, assuming she had something she wanted to tell them about.  When they stopped talking, she got upset, and turned around angrily to leave, since they obviously had a problem with her listening.  _

_            Jack stepped away from the helm to follow her, but the wheel turned slightly and he looked back at it anxiously.  He glanced at Bootstrap, who nodded and went after Raine.  _

_            She climbed up to ratlines to the crow's nest, and he followed as quickly as he could.  She went quickly, and gracefully as usual, which made him wonder how it could be that she could be clumsy on land, but with a catlike grace on the ocean.  _

_            When he finally caught up to her at the top, she was waiting for him, grinning at him, all anger long forgotten.  _

_            "How sweet of you to join me, Bill."  She said.  She was sitting on the wooden platform, and she patted the place next to her, so that Bootstrap sat down.  _

_            Then the both of them were sitting side by side and watching the sea and the sky, taking in all the hugeness of it next to each other._

_            "I just feel like sometimes Jack takes advantage of the fact that I'm always there to help him.  And that even though I do all of that, he still doesn't trust me, or think I'm capable of doing what he does."  _

_            Bootstrap said nothing, not wanting to agree with her and shed a bad light on Jack, or defend Jack and have her mad at him.  _

_            Raine suddenly turned to him and said, "Bootstrap, why did you get married?"  _

_            "I loved her." He said, surprised that Raine brought this up.  _

_            "Do you still love her?" Raine said nervously.  _

_            "Yes."  Bootstrap said, but he sounded unsure.  Suddenly he knew what Raine wanted to say, and what she wanted to know.  "Raine, I'm not going to be disloyal to my wife.  I don't want you to think that I don't like you at all… I mean… well…"  _

_            Raine was watching him as he said this, and she was even grinning, even though it was a nervous sort of grin, sort of a sad, unsure grin.  _

_            "And what about Jack?" Bootstrap continued.  "He'll be lost with the two of us; left out… it would be strange for all of us."  _

_            Raine nodded.  "You're right, of course.  Just friends.  For Jack."  _


	9. Not This Time

**A/N Sorry that I haven't been updating lately.  My dad was being evil… a whole week without my computer!  Evil, evil, evil… anyways, I really busted my butt to get this chappy out, so I hope you like it and review.  **

**Chapter Eight**

            "Young Mister Turner and I are to go ashore."  Jack said to Gibbs as the rowboat was let down.  Raine turned her gaze to him sharply when he said this, and his eyes pleaded with her.  "Please, Raine, just stay here."  

            "But Jack," she started to say, but her interrupted her.  

            "I don't want you getting in the way this time." 

            She was furious.  "Is that all I ever do, get in the way?  You take me for granted!  I never get to help with anything important; I'm always stuck behind while you show off!"  

            Jack tried desperately to calm her down.  "Look, love, I really need you to stay here."

            "And _I really need to __not stay here!"  _

            "Darling, I'm being serious."  

            "So am I!"  

            "Raine, I don't want to argue with you…"

            "So don't!  Just tell me I can go."  

            "You can go."  

            "Good.  Now where is the boat?"  

            "_No, Raine__."  _

"But you said I could go!"   

            "You told me to tell you you could go."  

            "DAMMIT JACK!"  She said, throwing her hands up into the air and growling in frustration.  

            Will watched all of this in silence, deciding to just keep his opinions to himself.  But Raine refused to let him stay silent.  

            "Will, tell him to let me go."  She said, turning to him.  

            "Um…" He said.  She looked at him for a moment and when she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she squinted at him and shook her head sadly.  

            "Bloody hell.  You're so much like your father."  She turned away from them both and started to go downstairs to her cabin, when Will caught her arm.  

            "Wait.  How am I like my father?" Her eyes searched his for a moment and then she bit her lip.  

"Bootstrap would never come between Jack and me."

Will sat across from Jack in the rowboat and asked him something he had wanted to know for a very long time.  

"Why didn't you make Raine your first mate?"  

Jack was silent for a moment, and his rowing was the only sound to be heard, besides the water splashing and dripping around them.  

"I can't really say…" He said finally.  

"I don't believe you."  Will said.  "You know exactly why Raine wasn't first mate.  Tell me."  

"Listen, mate, it doesn't really matter at all…"

"I think it matters to her."  

Jack was silent, and Will didn't press any further.  But Jack spoke up anyway.  "I could have made her first mate.  Except…"

"Except what?"

"I don't entirely trust her, mate."  

"What do you mean?" Will said, sitting up straighter.  

"Well… listen lad.  You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest, right?  I mean, it's the honest ones you want to look out for, because you can never tell when they're about to do something stupid.  Well, the problem is, Raine is dishonest, like me.  But you _still _can never tell if she's about to do something stupid."  

"You didn't make her first mate because she's unpredictable." Will said skeptically.  

"No."  Jack said, sitting back again.  He thought about this for a moment and then said, "Yes."  

Will just stared at him.  Jack shifted uncomfortably.  

Raine leaned out over the railing of the ship and stared at Jack and Will as they rowed closer and closer to the island.  When they disappeared from view, she turned around and looked around deck to make sure none of the crew members were watching.  

And then she climbed into another rowboat and lowered herself into the water.  

"You will not leave me behind this time, Jack."  She said to herself.  "Not this time."  

***~***

_"Hey, lass, how about some fun?"  Barbossa said to Raine, grinning suggestively.  She wasn't unsettled at all, smiling at him skeptically.  _

_"You've been on this ship long enough to know that nobody on this ship can have any part of my body to call their own."  _

_She turned away from him and started walking toward Bootstrap and Jack, who were at the helm again.  _

_"Not even Bootstrap?"  Barbossa called from behind her.  She stopped still and looked at Bootstrap at the helm.  He looked up and stared at her for just a moment, and their eyes met.  _

_"No." Raine said, soft like a whisper, only barely heard by the three others; Bootstrap, Barbossa, and Jack.  Raine turned slowly to Barbossa.  _

_"Where did you get that idea?"  Her eyes shifted slowly to back Bootstrap.  Jack seemed to be shocked… obviously he had not even thought to imagine that Raine… and Bootstrap? _

_Barbossa just laughed.  "The whole crew knows.  Except Jack.  But he always has been a tad bit out of it."_

_Raine and Bootstrap both glanced at Jack, who looked as if he was searching for something to say.  Barbossa turned away and went downstairs to the galley to talk to the rest of the crew.    _

_Jack put the rope around the helm to hold it in place, and then he stepped away from it.  The three friends stood together at the railing of the __Pearl__, Raine leaning forward and fiddling with her hands, Jack shifting uncomfortably every three seconds, and Bootstrap coughing randomly at the strangest moments.  _

_"So…" Jack started to say, turning to Raine.  But her eyes told him what he wanted to know.  _

_"I had no idea…" He continued, looking away to stare at his hands.  _

_"You weren't supposed to know.  It wasn't supposed to happen!"  Bootstrap said, tapping the railing.  His tone was angry.  _

_"Let's just talk about all this in the morning, when Jack can get over the shock. Please?" Raine said, gesturing toward the cabins.  _

_Jack looked nervously toward the cabins and then back at Bootstrap and Raine.  _

_"Oh, for gods sake, Jack!  We don't _sleep_ together!  What is your problem?" Raine said angrily, turning away and walking down to her cabin.  The two others followed, hoping to talk about their mess in the morning._

_With no idea that they wouldn't ever get the chance.  _


	10. Wonderful night for a swim

**Hey, all!  Updates have been less frequent lately… but I still update a lot more often than quite a few people I know (hint, hint) so no being evil and mad at me.  Was anybody confused about what I meant, the last sentence of the last chapter, about them never getting the chance?  It was because the mutiny happened that night… did anybody not understand that?  Well, anyways… I included the mutiny in the prologue, so I don't think I'll put it as a memory… what do you guys think?  What do you guys _want?  I'm writing this for my reviewers, so what you say, goes.   And on more thing… for those of you that were wondering; I would say that Will is about 19… is there anybody that wouldn't agree with this?  So, if he's nineteen, Raine is about sixteen years older than him, making her 35 and Jack 36.  (That means that in the current memories, they were about twenty five and twenty six, since Jack lost his ship ten years ago.) Not that old, but in those days, when people would get married at sixteen, and didn't live very long.  Pirates especially never lived very long. Now, without any further delay, I present to you… _The update…__**

**Chapter Nine**

"Why must every conversation revolve around Raine?" Jack asked Will, not really expecting to get an answer.  "I've lived with her for most of my life, and I don't understand what the big deal is.  What is there to know?  Stop asking me about her.  We're here for your bonny lass, remember?"  

            For a moment, Will didn't say anything.  "Why don't you want to talk about her?" He finally asked.  

            Jack sighed in exasperation.  "It's not that I don't want to talk about her. I don't really care if we talk about her or not, mate; it's just that I don't think she would like it much if I spilled everything about her to you.  Why do you care so much?" He shook his head.  "And we're _still talking about her."  _

            Will shrugged.  "I don't know, it's just that ever since she heard my name, she's been a little weird."  

            Jack gave him a look, which made Will laugh.  "Okay, even before she knew my name she was a little weird, but… she keeps talking about my father, how much like him I am."  

            Jack frowned and leaned toward Will.  "She said you remind her of your father?"  

            "Yes."

            Jack leaned back and continued rowing, saying nothing.  But Will got the feeling that he didn't like this new piece of information.  

            "Jack?  Was there something… between my father and Raine?"  

            Jack looked at him sharply.  "I thought we agreed we were going to stop talking about her, mate."  

            And Jack refused to say any more on the subject, so Will just gave up.  

            Raine wasn't a very fast rower at all.  In fact, this new turn of events reminded her why she never really had liked rowing at all.  Her idea to turn up and be the hero or something for Jack really wasn't working out too well… at the moment she was drifting because her oars had fallen in the water, and she was about seventy feet from where she needed to be.  

            Cursing, she looked around the boat trying to think of something she could use to maybe steer.  Finding nothing, she turned her gaze to the dark water, and made up her mind.  

            "Wonderful night for a swim…" she muttered to herself, trying to convince herself that the water would be warm and pleasant.  Of course, she _knew _that it wouldn't be, so that really wasn't working.  She continued to stare at the water until she was afraid that if she lingered any longer she would begin drifting out to sea.  

            Before she could back out of it, she dived rather clumsily off the side of the boat, realizing too late that someone may have heard her splash.  She surfaced quickly, and once she was sure there was nobody around, she began to swim.  

            But the water was cold and she was a bit frightened because who knows what sort of things there were in that water?  It gave her the shivers to just think about.  And she was beginning to sink; her effects were heavy.  

            They were weighing her down.  Without any hesitation, she pulled off her jacket… her bandanna had fallen off long ago.  She clung to her hat dearly… she would never, ever lose that hat if she could help it… but she was still being weighed down.  She thought for a moment about taking off her belt… but of course, she couldn't do that.  She would be left weaponless without her belt, on which she carried a small dagger and pistol. So she just took off her sword, watching with dismay as the thing sunk down to the depths.  Even if she couldn't use it… She was so used to having her sword, so used to being able to just whip it out and intimidate people with it.  There was nothing that would make her drop her pistol.  She would drown first.  

            With that weight gone, she began to swim as fast as she could toward the caves, so that she could be out of the water as quickly as possible.  

            The cave was dark and the water was about twenty degrees colder inside it, so that she really was shivering when she swam inside.  But there was nothing she could do.  She had gotten herself into this mess, and the last thing she could do was sit there and cry about it.  She continued to swim in the darkness until the water got shallower, and she was practically jumping with joy when her feet touched solid ground.  

            She tried her best to wring out her clothes without actually taking them off, and then set off through the damp and gloomy caves to see if she could find Will and Jack.  

            She spotted the two of them peering through a hold in the cave wall and into a much larger cavern filled with familiar faces.  For a moment, Raine just watched them standing there, almost afraid to go forward and face people that she never wanted to see again.  She took a few steps forward until suddenly Will moved forward, and Jack pulled him back.  Raine was startled at the sudden movement, and she slipped carefully back into the shadows.  

            "Not yet, lad.  We wait for the opportune moment." 

            "When's that?  When it's of greatest profit to you?"  

            Jack stepped forward so that he was very close to Will.  "May I ask you something?  Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?  Do us a favor- I know it's difficult for you, but please, stay here, and try not to do anything… stupid."  

            Jack started off in another direction in the caves, and Will grudgingly seemed to follow him. Once she was sure they were both out of her sight, she crawled forward and climbed up so she could see what was happening in the ceremony taking place.  She watched for only a moment before she heard a thumping sound, and she turned to see where it had come from.  

            When she realized that Will had gone to be the stupid hero by hitting Jack with an oar, she crawled down from where she was and went to see if Jack was unconscious, accidentally running into Will on the way.  

            His expression twisted when he saw her.  "What are you doing here?"  He muttered softly, but she shook her head and pushed past him, kneeling by Jack.  If Jack wasn't alright, then most likely none of them would live through this little adventure.  She turned him over so he was facing up, and took no notice when Will crept away.  Thinking for a moment, she left Jack and went back to the cave opening, cupping some water with her hands.  Returning to Jack's location, she realized that almost all the water was drained from between her hands.

            Cursing, she looked down at her hands and came up with another idea.  She slapped him square in the face, a little tactic that she had never tried before, since the only people Jack received slaps from were whores… and there was no way she wanted to sink to that level.

            However, the slap was necessary.  And it did its job.  

            "What the bloody hell was that for?"  Jack sputtered as he opened his eyes.  When he saw Raine leaning over him, his eyes grew wide and he handed her his jacket.  She seemed to realize that for the second time that day she was wearing a wet white shirt.  She put it on, blushing furiously, and once it was on, Jack seemed to come to his senses.  

            "Okay, what's happening?  How long have I been out, and… RAINE, WHY IN BLOODY HELL ARE YOU HERE?"  

            "Well excuse me, Mr. Ungrateful!"  Raine said sourly, standing up and looking around.  "Where did Will go… oh, no."  

            "What, what's happening?"  Jack said, sitting up and rubbing his face where she had hit him. 

 "Oh, so now you want my help?" Raine said, turning on him.  He held up his hands and leaned back.  

"Okay, I get it.  I'm sorry lass, just that I thought I told you to stay on the ship."  

"You did."  Raine said promptly, turning back around and watching the ceremony's happenings for a moment longer, before turning back to Jack and cutting him off. 

"Look, I'm sure there are a million things you want to lecture me about right now, like following your captains orders and all that, but first you had better come up with a plan real fast because Barbossa and his crew of miscreants and now blindly searching for Elizabeth, since she has taken the medallion with her when Will rescued her."  

"You found out all that?" Jack marveled, following her through the pathways in the cave.  

"It would seem that way, now wouldn't it?" Raine said with a touch of irritation.  "Just imagine, Jack… if only you paid attention, you could be a little smarter."  

"I do hope that wasn't sarcasm."  Jack said.  

"Yes, well, you can hope that all you want, darling." Raine said, continuing down a passageway.  But Jack's reply was cut off because the two of them were soon cut off by a group of Barbossa's men.  

"You're supposed to be dead!"  One of them said.  

"Am I not?" Jack said, and turned around quickly. But seeing that they were surrounded on all sides, he turned back around and smiled.  

"Why, Pintel, is that you?  You look… the same as ever… old and decrepit.  Really is a pity."  Raine said to the man who had spoken to them.  After she said it, she was painfully aware of all the guns pointing at them.  

"And you, Raine… You look the same too… still an annoying hag."  Raine threw him a withering smile and ran her fingers through her hair.  Leaning forward, she said, "Well, I do try." 

Meanwhile, Jack was stumbling over words.  Everyone was now staring at him as he racked his brain for words starting with 'P'.  

Finally, Raine smacked him on the shoulder.  "Parley."  She said, more to him than the group of pirates.  

"Yes!  That's the one!  Parley!"  

Pintel's expression twisted and he said, "Damn to the depths whatever…"

"I really think we should be going."  Raine said, holding out her hands.  "Take us to Barbossa." She waited for a moment, and when nobody moved, she smiled at the pirates in front of her.  "Please?"  


	11. Not an update, sorry, this is a AN

I'm sorry; this isn't a chapter, just an author's note.  I'm really sorry, but I just wanted to tell you all (most faithful and patient reviewers, I bow at your feet) that I might not be able to update for awhile.  Before you start throwing things, just hear me out; I'm sort of busy and I'll try to find time to get my next chapter out.  I'm not abandoning you!  Thanks for understanding… *reviewers start throwing things anyway* 


	12. She's not too happy with you right now

**I have managed to find time to write this, because we have had several snow days in a row, so that makes everything a bit easier.  Here is your update; I hope you like it.  **

**To **XtineSparrowDepp; **I'm sorry that I have to be evil and not update for awhile.  It is your own fault that you threw Jack at me… :D I suppose I'll just have to keep him.  **

**To **chibi-ami; **thanks for the shield, so that nobody can throw anything at me :D.  Wow, I'm getting all this interesting stuff after that authors note… first Jack, and now a shield… what next, a car?**

**Chapter Ten (wow, already?)**

** Barbossa watched Jack and Raine suspiciously from the other side of the cave.  Jack had his gaze fixed on Barbossa, planning something, and Raine had another annoying smirk on her face.  **

            "How the blazes did you two get off that island?"  Barbossa asked finally, breaking the silence.  

            "Does it really matter now how we managed to get off that godforsaken spit of land without any fuss at all?  The only thing that I think matters is that you're cursed, and we're not.  By those reckonings, Jack and I are in your debt."  Raine said, still sporting a grin.  Jack glanced at her for only a moment, and she could tell he was still annoyed at her for disobeying his orders and coming onto the island anyway.  

            "You're right, Miss Raine… or is it Sparrow now…?"  Raine's grin disappeared and she looked as if she wanted to jump on Barbossa there and then, but Jack grabbed her wrist.  Barbossa continued, "It doesn't matter how you got off that island, only that I won't be making that mistake again.  Gents, you all remember our old friends Jack and Jane? Kill them."  Barbossa turned and began to walk away.

            "The girls blood didn't work, did it?"  Jack said over the loud clicking of guns.  Barbossa stopped in the mid step and turned around.  

            "Hold your fire!  You know whose blood I need?"  

            "I know whose blood you need."  

            Jack and Raine were led onto the ship, but Barbossa stopped them from entering his cabin.  "Miss Raine will be locked in the brig."  He told his men, giving the order.  

            "What?  No!  You can't do that!  _I know whose blood you need!  Barbossa, you bastard, I- Jack, tell him that I need to be…" She glanced at Jack for support, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.  "Damn you both to hell!"  She said finally. "I don't know why I ever trusted you, Jack Sparrow!"  And with that, she was led without a fight down to the brig, and even though she made no effort to escape, the men who led her down were glad when she was off their hands.  _

Meanwhile, Barbossa sat across from Jack in his cabin.  

"So let me get this straight.  You expect to leave me on an island while you sail away with my ship, with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need?"

"No.  I expect to leave you on an island with nothing at all and watch me sail away with _my_ ship, and then I'll shout the name back to you."  Jack said, biting into an apple and grinning at Barbossa.  

Barbossa watched him eat the apple unhappily, and then he met Jack's eyes again.  

"The way I see it, why should I listen to you, when I could just ask Jane down there, and she'd probably tell me everything just to spite you?  She's not too happy with you right now." Jack listened to this and then frowned and set his apple down on the table, but he didn't get to say anything because three of Barbossa's crew came to take Jack down to the cells.  

"Bring the girl up."  Barbossa said to the men, and they nodded in understanding.  "If Jack makes a fuss… shoot him.  I don't need him anymore."  

When Jack was taken down to the cells, first he was shoved in the cell across from Raine's and when he turned around to make a smart comment to the crewmembers, he spotted Raine's dark figure leaning against the bars of the cell across from him.  She turned around and the water around her feet sloshed just a little, and she wrapped her fingers around the bars and leaned forward to address Jack.  

"Barbossa didn't agree to your terms, did he Jack?  Well, don't worry.  He'll agree to mine."  She grinned at Jack, a mocking smile.  "Don't think I don't know what you're planning Jack."  The cell opened and Raine was grabbed and pulled out.  She called over her shoulder to Jack.  "Don't think I won't do what it takes!"

"Bloody girl."  Jack muttered when they were gone.  He leaned against the wall of the cell and looked down into the filthy water swirling at his feet.  

"Apparently there's a leak."  

Barbossa was now sitting across from Raine, who smiled at him.  

"So let me get this straight.  The man I need is on the Interceptor, which is also the ship which has the last medallion on it.  All we need to do is find the Interceptor, run up a flag of truce, and then once they agree to the truce, we go over and… do what we do best… and then take what we need once they have surrendered."  Barbossa paused and looked at Raine.  "You still haven't told me whose blood I need."  

"All in good time."  She answered smoothly.  

"And what, pray tell, are you going to get out of this?"  

"Once the Interceptor has surrendered, that ship will be yours.  Out of the Pearl and the Interceptor, the Interceptor is in better condition.  You will captain the Interceptor, of course, because she is the grandest of the two, and then she will be your flagship, who's to argue?  But what of the Pearl?  Name me captain… I'll sail under you colors, and give you ten percent of my plunder."  

"Fifty."  Barbossa argued.  

"Twenty-five!"  Raine said, sitting forward.  "And I'll buy you a new hat.  As big as you want, with a fancy feather… commodore."  

Barbossa thought about this.  

"And I suppose, in exchange, you'll want me to leave Jack alive?"  

Raine thought about this.  She opened her mouth to say no, but she couldn't say it.  Glancing at her wrist, the tattoo of the two swords crossed caught her eye.  

"Yes.  Jack will remain alive, so that I can deal with him as I wish."  

Barbossa stared at her for a moment, and then leaned forward and hit the table with his hand.  

"Agreed.  We have an accord."  

Raine stood at the rail of the ship and stared down into the depths, thinking about what she had done.  Was it the right choice?  She didn't want Will to be hurt on her account, but how could she save him now?  Looking away from the water, she spotted the Interceptor and realized with a heavy heart that they were gaining on it.  She had been hoping that maybe they wouldn't be able to catch up.  That some miracle or twist of fate would make it so that the Interceptor and the people on it were safe and sound, already in Tortuga or Port Royal, or hiding in some unknown cave or port… 

            But as it were, they were indeed gaining on the Interceptor.  Raine's mind drifted back to Jack for just a moment.  How would things be playing out if she had never knew him?  Where would they both be now?  

            "Barbossa, does Jack know of the agreement we have come to?"  Raine asked Barbossa, jumping onto an idea that had just came to her.  

            "No."  Barbossa said, his eyes shifting and meeting hers.  "And I forbid you to go down to him.  You'll help him escape and that will be the end for both of you."  

            Raine turned her attention back to the sea, cursing inside her mind; Barbossa had guessed her plan.  


	13. Betrayed

**NVM about the whole being busy thing… I guess that it wasn't really that big of a deal.  And I guess when you love writing as much as I do, you can always find time to write.  **

**To **lemluvspirates… **yes, you gave me the idea of having Raine bargain with Barbossa, although I had originally planned it to be something like that… (Thanks a bunch).  Honestly, I have no idea where _this_ chapter is going to go, but I guess we'll see, now wont we?  I have no idea what's going to happen in this chapter.  **

TheSiriusSparrow **thank you so much.  Really there is no way I can thank you enough.  I was having a terrible day and getting all your reviews really made it better.  **

**Hehe, and thanks to all of you who gave me presents… I'm so glad that I got a car out of this whole deal.  Who says that writing doesn't have its advantages?**

**Chapter Eleven**

Soon the Pearl was almost right on top of the Interceptor.  Barbossa gave the order to run up the flag of truce, and then his eye's met with Raine's.  He grinned at her.  "You have no idea how I've waited for this day."  

            Raine turned her attention back to the ship across the water and muttered, under her breath so that Barbossa could not hear.  "So have I."  

            When the white flag was run up rather hesitantly on the other ship, Raine could almost not bear to watch.  Could she really hand Will… Bootstrap's son… over to Barbossa, just like that?  

            If Will had never existed, things could have been different.  Very different.  If Bootstrap had not been tied to marriage - maybe he would still be alive.  But still, she could not give Will, the only part left of Bootstrap, into the hands of Barbossa.  But did she have a choice now?  

            _There you go, Raine.  You've gone and ruined everything… her mind told her bitterly.  __You should have followed Jack's orders and stayed on the _Pearl___.  Then maybe everything wouldn't be so wrong.  _

She scanned her mind desperately for a plan, any plan.  Nothing came to mind so she watched with a sort of useless horror and the scene played out before her eyes, of Barbossa and his crew crossing over onto the Pearl and then taking it over even though they had proposed peace.  Part of Barbossa's terms was that she was not allowed to go over and help take over; obviously he didn't trust her, and with good reason.  What evidence did they have to prove that she would be on their side?  

And it wasn't like she wanted to help anyways.  She couldn't bear to betray them all, even though there was no thought in her mind that everyone would come out of this more or less alive, with the exception of maybe Will.  

            But she wasn't about to let this whole deal become one struggle with her mind about what was already said and done.  What was she going to _do?  _Her eyes drifted lazily to the man leaning over the helm with a bored, drowsy expression on his face, obviously upset that he had to be left out of the action.  She was certain Barbossa had told him to keep an eye on her, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to what she did or didn't do.  As quietly as she could, she slipped down to the brig.  She had to talk to Jack.  

            She found him leaning against the cell wall and looking rather pleased with himself.  "So, you've finally decided you need my help."  

            She rolled her eyes and walked forward so that she was pressed up against the bars also.  "Don't flatter yourself.  And keep it down; I don't want the dolt who's supposed to be watching me to realize that his charge has disappeared."

            Jack narrowed his eyes and frowned, and then practically shouted, "Well if you don't want my help then why are you down here?  Thought you had something up yer arse the way you were acting to me earlier."   

            "You selfish jerk, not everything is about you!  Why don't you ever think once to remember that I might have my own reasons for the things that I do?  Well, even though you might not think of me, I think of you, and I thought, well, if it was me down in this cell, I would want to know what the hell is going on!  But if you don't want to know, well, that's fine because I'm risking a lot by just being down here…. Oh, why am I even talking to you, you only care about your Pearl and whatever else there is never matters.  I've never mattered anywhere near as much as your stupid ship!"   

            Jack looked a bit shocked, and then he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came to his mind.  Raine leaned against the bars and buried her head in her arms and then sighed.  "I'm about to betray Bootstrap's son and become Captain of the Pearl… and I'm sorry Jack."  

            Jack bit his lip.  "And what happens to me?"  Raine looked up and her eyes flashed angrily.  

            "That's right; it's still always about you."  She turned around and stomped back above deck and her mouth dropped upon seeing what was happening up there.  

            Barbossa and his crew were standing on one end of the deck, and the crew of the interceptor was among them, tied up.  Will stood on the other end of the deck, holding a gun to his own temple.  

            Barbossa turned to face her at the sound of her footsteps.  "Why Raine, how nice of you to join us."  He said.  

            "It's _Captain Raine." she mumbled.  _

            Barbossa laughed and shook his head, and then some men stepped forward and grabbed Will.  He didn't seem to do anything to resist them.  Raine was confused for a moment, and then Barbossa said, "Actually, miss, it's not.  Since Will has surrendered on his own, our accord is forfeit.  Take her to the brig!"  He shouted to his men.  Raine felt two men grab hold of her arms, and she suddenly understood… she struggled for a moment, and then when she realized it would do nothing, she raised her gaze and met Barbossa's eyes, seething with dislike.  

            Barbossa nodded to the men holding her, and she was taken away.  Then he turned to another of his crewmembers.  "Bring me Jack, and let's see if we can find an island for him and Miss… _Turner."  _He nodded to Elizabeth and Will's eyes widened.  

            Raine sat on the bench in the corner and curled up against the wall of the ship, not saying a word to Jack, but listening closely as he was taken upstairs.  As soon as the pirates were out of her sight, she jumped up and went to the wall of the ship, running her hands over the wood on the wall.  She had been in this brig many times before when Jack thought it would be fun to play a little joke on her, back when he was captain.  She peered through a little hole in the wood, but found with dismay that the island was on the other side of the ship and she could not see it.  Sitting back on the bench, she curled up once more to wait and see what would happen.  

            After all… what else could she do?

            After about ten minutes of waiting and feeling sorry for herself, Will and the crew of the Interceptor were brought down to the brigs.  Will and Raine were kept in separate cells but the crew of the Interceptor was all stuck in another.  

            Raine was terrible mad at herself.  It was really all her fault… all of this mess, and not to mention that she didn't even get anything out of the deal.  She didn't even look up from her position when they were all brought in.  

            And she could tell that Will was somewhat mad at her.  He thought that she had wanted to kill him for the ship, and she didn't blame him.  

            So she kept quiet, curled on the bench in the corner of her cell and listened to the banter going on between the crewmates and cellmates.  

            "You knew William Turner?"  Will asked Pintel, one of the two pirates who were down with them, 'cleaning' the floor.  

            "Ol' Bootstrap Bill… we knew him."  Pintel gave him a horrible grin.  "I would say if you want to know more about him, you should ask Raine… she knew 'im best out of all of us..."

            Will glanced at Raine, who seemed to tense a bit, but not move, and then he turned to her.  

            "It's not true.  My father loved my mother and I.  He wouldn't…" Will trailed off and then frowned and clenched the bars.  "Tell me the truth."  

            At this, Raine looked up at him.  "Do you want to truth, lad, or do you want me to tell you that your father… _wouldn't, as you so kindly put it.  You aren't the only one who wished he was still alive, y'know."  _

            Will seemed very angry about all of this.  "You… and my father… no."  

            "You're right."  Raine said simply.  "Bill was too loyal to want me as much as I wanted him.  But Will, just saying that something isn't true doesn't make it any more of a lie."  

            "But it's _not true.  My father wouldn't do that to us."  _

            "_Us?"  Raine tensed.   "You… and Jack… so selfish, all the time.  It's always 'me,' and 'I,' and 'us.'  Yes, I know lad, you're going to rescue your bonny lass, right?  You love this girl, right?  Don't you __dare pretend like I don't matter.  Jack does that to me enough and I don't want it from you."  _

            She and Will were now glaring at each other between the bars, and if there hadn't been a wall there they would likely have killed one another.  

            The crew, on the other side of the boat, was watching them uncomfortably, and there was a dead silence.  

            "I refuse to pity you.  You can't expect to be shoved into the spotlight, being a woman pirate, so it's your own fault."   Will said quietly.

            "Did I ask for your pity?  I just want you to understand, Will.  Your father was a good man, and you should be damn proud of him.  He'd be proud of you."  


End file.
